Body fat percentage and how to lower?

nunasdreamnz
nunasdreamnz Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there

I'm steadily losing weight and my body fat % is going down too but I am wondering is there a straightforward way to lower it faster? At the moment it's 27% which is highly unhealthy.

Replies

  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    Not really a way to lower it faster, but doing weight training will help insure you retain your muscle mass so you are losing mainly fat and not muscle. Just continue with the calorie counting and it will steadily decrease
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,961 Member
    nunasdreamnz wrote: »
    Hi there

    I'm steadily losing weight and my body fat % is going down too but I am wondering is there a straightforward way to lower it faster? At the moment it's 27% which is highly unhealthy.

    The problem is that if you lose weight faster, the percentage of the loss attributable to loss of lean body mass generally goes up, other things being equal. So losing the weight faster can actually be counerproductive to your aim of lowering BF%. (Of course the $64,000 question, as they used to say back in the day when $64,000 would buy you a mansion in a high-priced area, is "faster than what?")
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Probably not.

    Losing body fat is a function of losing weight WHILE RETAINING muscle/lean mass. Focusing on strength training... getting enough protein... proper rest/recovery... reasonable nutrition, those are all things that can help, but any time you're talking about "faster" the answer is probably no.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    Technically, if you are willing to take the hit, being willing to lose muscle mass would let you lose body fat percentage faster, as a raw number. If you drop 1 pound of lean tissue, but drop 5 pounds of fat, you're probably still lowering your body fat percentage.

    I wouldn't recommend it because
    1. You probably won't like the results
    2. Healthwise you're skirting closer to normal weight, metabolic obese (skinny fat)
    3. You probably won't like the amount of cardio you'd need to be doing to generate deficits.

    So I wrote a bit to say listen to everyone above me anyway because you probably don't want what you think you want.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    The number one proven way to lower your body fat percentage is to lose body fat, which you're already doing.

    The other way is to gain muscle. Also, retaining most of the muscle you already have while losing weight helps, too. For this, you need a progressive lifting routine and adequate protein intake.

    If you're looking for a special exercise or supplement (drug) to make fat disappear faster, they're illegal and dangerous.

    Keep doing what you're doing.
  • Pricklypineapple422
    Pricklypineapple422 Posts: 52 Member
    nunasdreamnz wrote: »
    Hi there

    I'm steadily losing weight and my body fat % is going down too but I am wondering is there a straightforward way to lower it faster? At the moment it's 27% which is highly unhealthy.

    How are you determining body fat percentage? If it's from a scale, it isn't accurate and I wouldn't give it too much thought. I have lost 70 lbs, am now 5'4", 112 lbs with visible abs and my scale has changed form 33% body fat at my highest to 25% now. It just isn't accurate.

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